What I Wore: The Value of Basics

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Just the other day, I shared what was on my spring/summer shopping list. Black pants have been a staple piece of my wardrobe this year, so it should be no surprise that they made my list as something to replace. After all, when you can dress them up for work, or down for a day on the town, it is really no wonder they are the MVPs of my closet.

Black cigarette pants are a bit of Goldilocks situation. They have to be juuuust right in terms of fit, and material. You want them to skim, not cling, yet they need to be something you can move in. They need to not shrink funny in the wash; no one wants pants where one leg is half an inch shorter than it's pair (please insert the stink eye I am giving the store White House | Black Market). I was surprised as anybody that these ones from the Gap were the winners of the bunch. It had a seam ripped, so it was marked down; thank goodness for basic sewing skills right (and that costuming class I had in college)?

With pants- and other basics like it- its easy to create these really polished looks that don't take any time. I wore this look to work and then again on the weekend. Like black pant, the shirt gets worn a lot. I've shared on the blog before; its my favorite piece from my favorite company, Popbasic, but in fact this is how it gets worn more often. Sometimes a girl knows, what's simple is best.

Black pants aren't for everyone, like anything else. I definitely need them in my wardrobe though, with my work. I didn't have them for a few weeks and it was so hard to get dressed in the mornings! Not enough bottom clothing pieces to round out the work week... glad that's over!

"A goldilocks situation" is the perfect way to describe a piece like this! I inherited some black "work" pants from my sister, and I pretty much neglected them because I thought, when do I need to wear a suit? Honestly thought, black pants like this are just like khakis (though...black.) What I mean is, you could sub them in basically anytime you would wear khaki pants, that makes them more casual and easier to wear, imo. Anywayyyyy, great mix of classics here!

Yes, black pants go with a lot. I can see they might not be for everyone- I personally don't like khaki as a color or as a fabric choice. But for me and work wardrobe, I definitely wear them all the time. I think a large part is also finding a cut you like. I dislike the more typical black professional pant cut, so I find cigarette pants or peg-leg pants because they work for my body type (read: no curves) better.

i've been eyeing this post in my dashboard, I was excited to open it up. I feel like my style is starting to go towards this route so I was immediately drawn to that pant and jacket combo. You look so classic and timeless- this is gorgeous! And arg, buying items you *thought* would be high quality and then find them to fall apart is the worst. Tricksters -__-

I've sewn seams back up on several items, moved or reattached buttons, but nothing major. Part of this is that I don't have a sewing machine, and it gets tedious (and, if I'm honest, a bit uneven) if I hand-stitch that much.

I'd like to shorten the hem on a skirt or two, but otherwise, I'm not a seamstress enough to do more complicated things like darts and such.